Why is everything a ‘false flag’?
5/1/202632 min
Following the recent shooting connected to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, false-flag conspiracy theories emerged almost instantly online.
A false-flag is a covert operation designed to appear as though it was carried out by someone other than the true perpetrator.
And the complicated thing is that false-flag operations are not just the figments of paranoid imagination. Throughout history, governments have used deception, staged attacks, and manipulated attribution to justify war, consolidate power, and shape public opinion.
Today, we’re joined by Kathryn Olmsted, author and distinguished professor of history at University California, Davis, to discuss the history of false flag operations, conspiracy culture, and the relationship between real government deception and modern political paranoia.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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First 90 secondsJayme Poisson· Host0:00
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Kathryn Olmsted· Guest0:28
[upbeat music] This is a CBC podcast.
Jayme Poisson· Host0:32
[upbeat music] Hey, everybody. It's Jamie. So earlier this week, we got this listener review about our episode on the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner. It reads, in part, "I understand you all have policy at CBC about what you can say, but really, Trump was buoyed up by the shooting attempt because it was staged. He had no fear because there was no real threat. He takes the focus off Iran with this threat, and he makes a case for the ballroom, which will now be approved. Please don't lose your edge on reality, even if only assumed." Basically, that it was a false flag. Look, I know comment sections can get pretty wild, but whoever this was is tapping into a much larger phenomenon. We've talked a lot on this program about the way that conspiracies